Faithless
by Obsession289699000203040508
Summary: Tohru Honda loves Yuki Sohma. She knows she has to. She's actually started dating him. So why does she keep thinking of his cousin, Kyo Sohma, the orange-haired boy with anger issues? And what happens when she succumbs to her desire for him?
1. Chapter 1

**I am 13 and I don't own Fruits Basket. I was thinking about Fruits Basket, and I came up with this! (I was watching a drama while thinking about it – go figure!) **

**Enjoy!**

He held my hand, tugging me lightly down the hall. As he walked, Yuki frequently glanced back and smiled at me. I smiled back, but without as much enthusiasum. Suddenly, he stopped.

"Is anything wrong, Miss Honda?" Miss Honda – Yuki Sohma always called me that. It became the slightest bit annoying after a while, but I never told him. In fact, I had become so accustomed to it that it didn't even bother me.

"No, everything's great, Yuki," I replied. His violet eyes stared into my blue ones for just a moment as he ran his pale hand through my brown hair. I inhaled sharply. That was what my mother used to do. Before her accident a few years ago, anyway.

Yuki had taken me in when I needed it most. This was my way of repaying him – he loved me, so I loved him back. At least, that's what I thought. Truthfully, at that time, it wasn't like that. It wasn't a form of repayment. After he told me he loved me, I felt I loved him back.

His gray hair swayed as he led me through the hallway of our house. We walked down the familiar hallways. Today, we were going to the garden. The two of us had just barely taken one step out the door when I heard a crash. The ground shook slightly.

"Oh, no!" I shrieked, my eyes widening. "It's an earthquake! We've got to warn Kyo!" Shigure was invited to join Yuki's brother, Ayame, and Hatori for a drink or two. As I freaked out, Yuki just stood there and stared inside the house.

"That stupid cat _is_ the earthquake," he said with annoyance. As if on cue, the orange-haired boy sped down the steps. Joy filled my being as he filled my vision. I felt warmth rushing to my cheeks.

"Kyo!" I shouted. "Are you all right? I heard the crash and it sounded like it hurt! What happened? Did the bookshelf crash? Did you fall? Are you -"

"I'm _fine_, Tohru," Kyo interrupted. "Stop worrying."

"I can't believe you're so vain to immediately think she's worrying about you," Yuki sneered.

"Damn rat!" Kyo lunged at him.

Not again… "Stop it, please!" I wrapped my arms around my orange-haired friend. A puff of smoke signaled the transformation. Looking down, I saw that I was holding Kyo in his cat form. "Sorry! Sorry! I am _so_ sorry!"

"Haven't we gone over this before? You don't have to keep apologizing for everything, you know," Kyo said, his orange ears perked up.

"Oh, right," I whispered. His little feline body felt nice, nestled in my arms. Even though I could feel Yuki glaring at Kyo, I couldn't help it.

Until he changed back, that is.

The second Kyo changed from an orange cat to a naked teenager, Yuki grabbed my hand and sharply pulled me out the door. I tried my best to pull my eyes from the house, from Kyo. Let me tell you, it was hard. But I loved Yuki. I had to try.

"Is something wrong, Miss Honda?" Yuki asked again. I glanced at him, worried that I would blush madly and give myself away. Shaking my head, I followed him to our secret base.

I went through the actions in a daze. My thoughts kept returning to Kyo. Yuki stared at me the whole time we were there. I couldn't blame him.

What was happening to me?

**Wow, Pamela, way to make it subtle.**

**R/R/KR (Read/Review/Keep Reading)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again. I am Pamela, I'm 13 years old, and I do not own Fruits Basket.**

By the time Yuki and I returned to the house, Shigure had come home. He was on the phone with his manager – it was the tenth time this week she had called him. Leaning against the door, awaiting our arrival, was none other than Kyo. The sunset glowed off of his bright orange hair. The wind blew through it.

He looked amazing… What was I thinking?

Shigure pulled the phone away from his cheek for a moment. "Welcome back, Tohru. I trust you had a nice time," he greeted. I nodded. "Not _too_ nice I hope," he joked.

Next to me, Yuki smirked. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me against him, kissing my neck. As my face flushed, I smiled.

"What the hell?" Kyo shouted with a disgusted look on his face. He rolled his eyes. "Come on, Tohru. I'm starving." The orange-haired boy walked over to us and grasped my wrist. Pulling away from my neck, Yuki smiled. I returned the gesture as Kyo began pulling me into the house.

"Somebody's jealous," sang Shigure.

"Shut up!" Kyo shoved me lightly into the kitchen.

"He's a stupid cat," Yuki began. "He's too stupid to feel jealousy."

"You take that back, you damn rat!"

"Make me."

I could hear the two fighting in the other room, as well as Shigure's whimpering about them breaking the door again. Giggling, I turned my attention to dinner. Since I knew Kyo wouldn't last much longer without something to eat, and he'd go into a tirade if I made leeks, I just made riceballs.

Just as I set the riceballs on the table, I felt a body collide with mine. The puff of smoke enveloped me during my fall. After the smoke cleared, I noticed the orange body in my lap. Kyo's fur stood on end as he growled at Yuki. He stomped over to the gray-haired boy and gave him a hard shove in my direction. Yuki fell on me, and the smoke told us that he was becoming a rat.

"Stupid, stupid cat. What does this change?"

"You're smaller than me now, which gives me the better advantage!"

Shigure turned to me, seeming to be ignoring the argument. "Tohru, these riceballs are delicious," he said.

"Oh, thank you –" I was cut short by the sound of the cat jumping onto the table, noisily and hungrily eating the meal. Looking down, I saw Yuki was still in my lap. "Yuki, aren't you going to eat?"

The rat shook his head, leaning against my stomach. "I'm fine right here," replied Yuki.

"Who's the pervert now, Yuki?" Shigure laughed. I saw Kyo's ears perk up. He turned in my direction; riceball remained stuck on his feline face. His eyes widened. The moment his eyes met mine, he turned back to the food. Almost immediately afterwards, smoke filled the room. Kyo and Yuki stood in front of me, stark naked. Yelping, I turned to face the wall.

After a few seconds, I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Miss Honda, you can turn around now." Whirling around, I noticed that I was only inches from Yuki's face. As my face flushed, he kissed me gingerly on the lips. "Miss Honda, aren't you going to eat?" He smirked. I smiled at him, letting him lead me to the table.

*FURUBA*

Yuki seemed tired at the end of supper. I wanted to take him upstairs and make sure everything was all right, but Shigure insisted he should do it. Shigure brought Yuki up the stairs to his room, where I heard them murmuring to each other. Kyo and I were left alone. There was silence. To ease the atmosphere, I picked up a few dishes and skipped to the kitchen to wash them.

As the water ran and I scrubbed the dishes with the soap, I couldn't help but feel like someone was watching me. Since I was overly curious, I glanced behind me to see a pair of red eyes staring at me.

"Oh!" I pressed my hand to my chest in surprise, turning to face him. Kyo noticed I had caught him and he looked down at the ground.

As moments passed with us staring at each other, he spoke.

"Do you want any help with that?" he asked.

"No, no! I'm fine! You don't have to go through all that trouble!" I insisted. Kyo ignored my plea and began helping me. I knew well enough that I couldn't win against Kyo, so I let him help. With his assistance, the dishes were clean and put away just a few minutes later.

While waiting for Shigure to come downstairs with news about Yuki, I sighed and leaned against the counter. Kyo stood in front of me, hands on both sides of my body. He exhaled loudly, his breath smelling of riceballs. This observation made me laugh softly. Suddenly, he did something I hadn't expected him to.

Kyo pressed his lips to mine, his hands firmly planted on the counter. My eyes widened for a moment, but my eyelids soon dropped. We stood there for a moment, just like that. As soon as he broke away, Kyo seemed embarassed.

Laughing awkwardly, he rubbed the back of his head. "Crap," he muttered. "I'm sorry."

I blinked. Kyo isn't the type of person to apologize very often. "No, it's all right," I said quietly.

"Really?"

Stepping closer to him, I placed my hand on his cheek. "Really."

And that's how I became faithless…

**Title drop!**

**Well, this is where the story gets a biiiiiiit more complicated. **

**R/R/KR**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again! I'm Pamela, a 13 year old who doesn't own Fruits Basket. Thank you, Lazy Gaga and DRAGON-HEIR1, for reviewing this story!**

**Anyway…ON TO THE STORY! Sorry, I do that in one of my stories on another website…**

Why did I just do that? _Why_ did I kiss _Kyo_? I mean, it's not that I didn't like him, of course I do. It's just that…it's Yuki. This is making me feel terrible. I was dating him, I was supposed to be in love with him, yet I just kissed his cousin! Well, Kyo kissed me, but I still let him.

Kyo had left just before my nervous breakdown. As I freaked out, Shigure thumped down the stairs, Yuki trailing behind him. Once he saw me, Yuki became worried – which, of course, I didn't want.

"Miss Honda, are you all right? Did Kyo do something?" He placed his hands on my cheeks and pulled my face closer to his to get a closer look. My frantic eyes glanced all around the room, trying to avoid his stare. I knew that if I looked at him, I wouldn't be able to hold it in.

Yuki looked as if he was going to say something, but a loud call in the distance cut him off.

"Kyo!" a voice shouted sweetly. Shigure, Yuki, and I directed our eyes to the direction of the speaker.

"Kagura," we stated. Upstairs, there was loud stomping.

"Damnit!" Kyo grunted loudly. I ran upstairs to see if anything was wrong with him, and he wasn't just mad that Kagura had come.

"Kyo, are you okay?" I asked as soon as I reached his doorway.

"Of course not, Tohru! I need to get out of here before –" Kyo's red eyes widened. Before I could turn around and see who it was, a figure brushed past me and attacked him.

"Kyo!" Kagura hugged him tightly. "Oh, Kyo, it's been so long! I haven't been able to _rest_ without hearing your voice!"

"Well, I can't rest whenever I _do_ hear it," Kyo muttered. He sent me a pleading glance. I laughed softly.

After about ten minutes, the girl possessed by the spirit of the boar released her hold on Kyo's neck. He fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

"Kyo, are you all right? You're not hurt, right?" I rushed to his side, only to receive a glare from him and Kagura.

"I'm fine, Tohru. Don't worry," he said. Since Kyo was gasping so much, Kagura tackled him in another hug.

"Oh, Kyo! I am so sorry!" she screamed. In just a few seconds, she had quieted to a whisper. "But I…I…" As quickly as she'd calmed down, Kagura lost control again. She grabbed Kyo's arm and slammed him against the floor repeatedly. "_I JUST LOVE YOU SO MUCH!_"

Shigure stood by the door, laughing hysterically. Yuki was by my side in an instant. He forced me against the wall, sheilding me. I cringed as my back hit the wall. Yuki raised his eyebrow as he waited for the torture to end.

"Uh…Kagura?" I whispered? She paused and glanced at me. "I think you're –"

"Don't say it – you'll just make it worse," Kyo ordered.

*FURUBA*

Kagura seemed to spend an interminable amount of time at the house before Kyo just kicked her out. I stared at him as he walked her to the door. Thoughts of what happened earlier this afternoon flooded my mind.

The way his eyes stared into mine.

How his lips felt against mine.

How I let him kiss me the way he did.

I knew how hard it would be to keep this secret. But since I was already keeping the Sohma's Zodiac secret from everyone outside the Sohma family, I didn't think it would be that difficult.

Man, now that was an understatement.

**This wasn't that great of a chapter, I know. But it just…came out this way, so yeah.**

**R/R/KR (Read/Review/Keep Reading)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here I am – the 13 year old who doesn't own Fruits Basket. THANK YOU GUYS FOR REVIEWING! And, um…crunchie11, I'll try to put a few twists in this.**

**And…ONTO THE STORY!**

Oh, goodness. I couldn't wait any longer. Once I made sure Yuki and Shigure were asleep, I crept through the hallways to his room.

Breathing deeply, I knocked lightly on the door.

"Huh?" Kyo rustled inside his room. The image of him standing up, his bare torso glowing in the moonlight, made me feel a little faint. He slid the door open. As his eyes met mine, they widened slightly. "What the hell? Tohru…" Kyo yawned. "Seriously, what are you doing here at one o'clock?"

"Um…" I searched for words I could use. Random words began popping out of my mouth. "Basket."

"What?"

"Pens." In my mind, I mentally slapped myself on the forehead. Why am I so stupid? Kyo cocked his head, trying to decipher the words I blurted out. I took a deep breath, regaining control – at least part of it, anyway. "I wanted to, um, see you," I confessed.

His eyebrows rose. "Tohru, what are you –" he began before realizing what I meant. His smooth lips formed an 'O' as he stepped aside to let me in.

The moment I entered his bedroom, Kyo backed me into a wall. As my back pressed against it, he trapped me. He pressed his lips to mine and a strange urge pervaded my entire body. I placed my hands on the sides of his neck and pulled him closer, being careful not to make him transform.

After we had been in this position for a few minutes, I felt Kyo's mouth pressing harder and harder. All I can say is this: It hurt. It was now that he stepped away, looking embarassed.

"I'm sorry."

Frantically, I waved my arms in the air. "No, Kyo! You musn't be sorry! You don't have to apologize!"

Kyo smirked at me. "Why doesn't that piss me off anymore?" he said, returning himself to his previous position. His hands leaned against the gray wall on either side of me – almost exactly as he had done the first time.

How was Yuki going to react to this? On my way to Kyo's quarters, I had second thoughts on whether or not I should really do this. The hesitation was returning to my brain. I froze. Kyo pulled away slightly and gave me a quizzical look. I shook my head, bringing him closer once more.

Just as our lips met, there were footsteps coming from further down the hallway. Turning my head toward the sound, I stared at the door.

"Don't worry, Tohru," Kyo whispered gently in my ear. "It's probably just that damn rat taking a crap."

Gulping, I nodded and kissed him again. I brought my attention away from the noises and focused on the kiss. Kyo's lips were soft and perfectly in sync with mine. I felt…nice when I kissed him – with Yuki, it's not as much so. All my worries began to melt away…

Until I heard the door beginning to slide open.

**You know, I think I might be turning into a Kyo fangirl… Ha ha, in May, I got this one bracelet that is VERY similar to Kyo's. Now I wear it all the time because of him…wow… And the weird thing is, I'm a Taurus – month and year. HATSUHARU MOMENT!**

**Occasionally, I'll have Yuki moments, though. Today, I was reading Volume 14. In one scene, he said, "Grr…I am seriously really pissed." (And that's word-for-word) I was like, "Holy crap! That's the FIRST time he's said a swear word!" Usually, it's only Arisa or Kyo. I was freaked out.**

**But I always have room in my heart for Momiji and Kisa, who are SO DAMN CUTE!**

**By the way…sorry for making this so short.**

**R/R/KR!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I am 13 (okay, you already know that, so I'm not putting that anymore) and I don't own Fruits Basket.**

**Okay, I'm on Volume 17 right now. Yeah, I haven't read the whole series. Being the weirdo I am, instead of waiting to read it, I looked **_**everything**_** up. So now, when I see it, I grin like an idiot… I'm insane.**

…**Do they have closets in Japan? Oh, who am I kidding? I saw it on the FB anime in Saki Hanajima's room.**

**All right…ON TO THE STORY!**

Suddenly, I felt a hard shove. Kyo pushed me into the closet. I grimaced as I was shut in. Who was that entering the room? Me and my curiosity…

"Kyo, I trust you're doing well?" a familiar voice said. My breathing changed from rough to momentarily nonexistent.

"What do you want, Akito?" Kyo asked angrily.

"Oh, nothing…" Akito replied. "Well, there is one thing –"

"Then it's not nothing," snarled Kyo.

"If you'd let me finish…" I could imagine Kyo rolling his eyes right there. He looked so cute – wait, Yuki doesn't like to be called cute; does Kyo feel the same? But still, he looked so _attractive_ whenever he did that. Well, he looked attractive when he did almost anything.

Clearing my thoughts, I made sure to pay attention to what the head of the Sohma family was saying. Akito paced around the room for a minute.

"Are you going to say something, or are you just going to pace around my room until morning comes?" the orange-haired teenager muttered.

Akito breathed deeply. "There have been rumors going around that say Tohru's been 'messing around' with Yuki. Knowing how bad she is, I thought I'd come and get you to corroborate on that." I raised my hands to my mouth. He thought I'd been hooking up with Yuki? Who told him those lies?

A thud came from beyond the door. I peeked through a crack in the door and saw Kyo trapping Akito against the wall.

"Don't you _ever_ say that crap about her again," he ordered.

"Why should I? Oh, you still have feelings for her, don't you?" Akito laughed softly. "You worthless bastard. Do you think that she'll return them?"

Anger swelled up inside me. For the first time, I actually felt like lashing out at him – I felt like _hurting_ him.

Kyo didn't respond. Does he really have feelings for me? Is that why he kissed me?

"Hmph," grunted Akito. "I knew it. Now she does, too." I heard footsteps near the closet door. Akito thrust it open and revealed my place of hiding. He grabbed my hair and pulled me out of the closet and slammed me against the floor. "You whore."

"Don't talk about her that way," Kyo growled.

"No, Kyo, it's quite all right," I said.

"It's not, Tohru. Don't you get it? When people _hurt_ you, it's not all right, okay? I go through hell when I see you getting hurt by people…people like Akito."

"I'm right here – and flattery will get you nowhere, Kyo," Akito said coldly.

I stood up and leaned on Kyo's shoulder. "Get out," I spat. Almost simultaneously, all of our jaws dropped. Even I was surprised by my outburst.

The 'God' hissed at the two of us and stormed out. This left the two of us alone again. We stared at each other for a moment before I spoke again.

"What was he talking about before?" I asked.

"It was nothing. Don't worry about it."

"I mean it; he said something about feelings."

"Just let it go, Tohru."

I glanced down at the ground before heading for the door. "Okay," I mumbled, reaching for the handle to slide the door open.

That didn't go so well. Why am I such an idiot? Why did I let myself get carried away, thinking that he felt the same as I did now?

Just as I exited Kyo's room, I bumped into something – or rather, someone.

"I'm sorry," I apologized as I looked up at the person I'd collided with. My eyes widened.

Oh, no. That is _definitely_ not good.

**Now, if this had been taking place at a different time (as in, after the curse was broken, because wasn't that when Akito's true gender was revealed to the other Sohmas? Like I said, I haven't read all the mangas yet.), then I would've used 'he' to describe Akito. But this isn't at that point, so Akito's not a 'she' to Tohru yet.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the long wait (yeah, 'cause 7 days is a super long time…). Guess what? I'm using the Fruits Basket series for a school project! It's this connection thing. You know something weird? The day after I said that I hadn't gotten to the part where Tohru finds out that Akito's a girl, I got to that part. **

**Well, I won't procrastinate any longer. I don't own Fruits Basket.**

**And…ON TO THE STORY!**

I was in a trance, staring up at the person I had crashed into. My jaw dropped.

"I, uh, was just, um…" I stammered. The figure in front of me placed his hands on his hips.

"Tohru, would you mind telling me what you were doing in Kyo's room in the middle of the night?" Shigure asked, a smirk playing on his lips. Still in shock, I couldn't speak. Beside me, I heard a door slide open. Kyo came rushing out of it, crashing over me in the process. The position he was in must have qualified as a hug of some sort, because a puff of smoke surrounded me. After the smoke cleared, Kyo was hanging over my shoulder in his cat form.

The cat sighed. "I found you! Listen, Tohru –" Once he saw Shigure, who looked completely lost, he paused.

Even in the dark, I could spot Shigure's mouth form an 'O'. He nodded, holding out a hand. I took it and let him pull me up. Kyo still draped over my shoulder. Gingerly lifting him up, I held him in my arms. Although I knew he hated this, he didn't protest.

"Does Yuki know about this little get-together?" the novelist asked. Both of us shook our heads. "So – I'm just curious – when exactly do you plan on telling him?" I didn't know what to say. As I searched my brain for the correct response, a cloud of smoke signaled Kyo transforming back into a human. Gasping, I forced myself to look in the opposite direction. My eyes saw Akito walking around the corner to storm down the staircase.

While watching Akito, I muttered my reply. "I don't know what I'm supposed to tell him," I whispered, turning around to face Kyo and Shigure.

"Just tell him there's nothing going on," Kyo said harshly as he crossed his arms. He glared up at Shigure. "What the hell are you doing in the middle of the night, anyway? Even that damn rat is asleep."

"Well, your little party is just so noisy," he answered. Shigure pouted in fake sadness. "What's a novelist like me supposed to do without any sleep to let me savor my energy?" He glanced back and forth between me and Kyo. "Since you two lovebirds are making so much noise, it's really obvious that there's 'nothing going on.'"

I looked down at the ground. What was I supposed to do? If Shigure found out by accident, it was only a matter of time before another mistake led to Yuki finding out. I couldn't do this. I just couldn't hurt Yuki like that.

Glancing up into Kyo's deep, beautiful, dark, soft, auburn… No! I couldn't allow myself to get distracted. Glancing into Kyo's eyes for just a moment, I swirled around and walked slowly to my room. Nobody followed me. Even if I didn't want them to, since that would only make matters worse, there was that part of me that was disappointed that no one came after me. Maybe Kyo didn't like me as much as I thought.

But…Akito said…

_"Why should I? Oh, you still have feelings for her, don't you?" Akito laughed softly. "You worthless bastard. Do you think that she'll return them?"_

_Anger swelled up inside me. For the first time, I actually felt like lashing out at him – I felt like hurting him._

_Kyo didn't respond. Does he really have feelings for me? Is that why he kissed me?_

_"Hmph," grunted Akito. "I knew it. Now she does, too."_

As I reflected on the scene that unfolded just a few minutes ago, I notice something. Akito; his voice seemed to have a sense of jealousy to it. Why would he be jealous?

Then I remembered something else: the first day I spoke with him, he didn't exactly sound…like I thought he would. His voice was a bit feminine, considering he's just a few years younger than Shigure.

What does that mean? Is Akito a –

I didn't think so. If Akito had really been a girl, then was she jealous of me spending time with the Sohmas. I doubted my theory, but as each second passed, that doubt began to fade. Why was it that Akito was angriest when I hung out with the male Sohmas?

Oh, my.

**…I may or may not make it like it was in the manga – where Kureno tells her. But you have to admit this is a good point I brought up! (ha ha, not really) SHE isn't as pissed when Tohru's with Kisa or Kagura, but SHE is insanely Bonkers-Bouncing-Off-The-Walls-Pissed when Tohru's with Yuki or Kyo.**

**Anyway…Sorry for the long wait. I couldn't think of a much better chapter than this. Plus, there's a problem with one of my Quizilla stories, but I won't go into a long rant about that.**

**R/R/KR!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't own Fruits Basket.**

**I just read the 20th volume online (I'm reading 21+ in an actual book later)…I cried. I was crying from the moment I saw Hiro holding his baby sister…and I'm still crying now…This is the first time Fruits Basket's made me do that. I think part of it is Kyo – I don't know why – part of it is Momiji, but not really, part of it is Hiro, part of it is Tohru, part of it is Akito. Damnit…**

**I knew about all of this, too! I _looked it up!_ Volumes fourteen and up I looked up on Wikipedia before actually reading them! Even when I read about Hiro holding his sister, I cried. I guess that's because I have a baby sister of my own (though I don't think that's a proper term anymore…more like 'toddler'); she's two years and nine months old. **

**There were parts of the 20th volume that made me want to cry. I just wasted over 100 words telling you this. **

**No more delaying. Here's the next chapter.**

Why did I run away from him? Is it because of Yuki? At that moment, that's what I thought. It isn't a good thing to hurt someone just because you find yourself falling for someone else.

_Is that what I'm doing? Falling for **Kyo**? _I thought to myself. Standing next to my frilly-sheeted bed, I stared out into the night.

It had been over seven days since that night. That's how long our little fling lasted – one night. How could one night make me feel this…different?

Kyo seemed to want to speak to me. He even told me that he wanted to 'talk about us.' But I just couldn't. I was rejecting him. This hurt me and I knew that it hurt him. I couldn't subject _Yuki_ to that pain. But was it right to subject Kyo to it?

My mind had been clouded with one topic, other than Kyo, over the past week: Akito. Since I met the head of the family, Akito always seemed like a boy. Has that been a lie all this time? If so, is 'she' jealous of me for being with Kyo? It seems conceited for me to even think this, but I can't help it. The look in Akito's eyes while attacking me… They seemed to be filled with jealousy. Is that just how the head of the family feels all the time? Or is it something else?

I cleared my head of these insane thoughts for one split second before seeing someone that brought the thoughts back.

"Kureno," I said, walking over to the dark-haired Sohma. The man possesed by the rooster glanced up at me just as a tiny flock of sparrows fluttered by him as if they were afraid of him. For a moment, I was surprised. But then, I remembered: his curse was broken a long time ago.

"Hello, Tohru," he replied. As he stood up, Kureno watched the birds fly away before turning to face me. "If you're going to ask me to talk to Arisa again, I won't." That hadn't even crossed my mind. I had all but forgotten about him and my best friend. Uo wanted to see him – he knew that. But he didn't leave.

"I wasn't," I whispered, bringing myself away from Uotani. Seeing Kureno Sohma reminded me of the question that had been haunting me since the night I met Kyo in his room. "Is Akito a girl?" I asked bluntly. At first, Kureno seemed astonished at my curiousity, but he breathed and answered with a nod.

"Akito isn't a boy. On the day Ren – Akito's mother – gave birth to the head of the family, she was…" Kureno began to explain. He was at a loss for words for a moment. "Well, she was pissed when Akito turned out to be a girl. I guess she was jealous of the attention her daughter received from the father. So because of this, Ren made sure that Akito was raised as a boy."

"Oh," I breathed.

"Why do you ask?" Kureno wondered.

"Well, something happened last night," I began. In a slur of words, I told Kureno all about what happened with me and Kyo.

*FURUBA*

Once I finish explaining that incident, Kureno was at a loss for words once again. He stared at me before speaking again.

"Is that why you asked? You think Akito's jealous of you being with Kyo, huh?" Kureno concluded. I nodded. "That's an unlikely possibility, considering the cat is usually hated by the majority of the Sohmas."

Shrugging, I looked behind me. The two of us said our goodbyes. As Kureno left, I stared behind me, never turning around; that would make that _forward_. Now that I knew of Akito's true gender, something made me wish to go see her. So I did.

On my way to the Sohma's main house, I let my mind wander. Well, it wasn't exactly _wandering_.

Why was I going to the main house? Was it to make some friendly conversation with Akito? Was it to tell her that there was nothing going on between me and Kyo?

But I couldn't tell her that. Why? That's simple: that's a lie.

I find it strange that the one time that I find someone whom I really like, something stops me. Yuki. As much as I liked Kyo, Yuki was my boyfriend.

At least, that's what I thought…

…Until I saw him holding hands with someone I didn't recognize.

**I think you _all_ know who the girl is. If you love it, you should know. If you know who she is, this isn't much of a cliffhanger.**

**You know what's ironic? In the manga, Kyo is the one who rejects Tohru (and how do I know this? I looked it up before I read it! I'll be reading volume 21 in about…4 or so hours? Then, it'll be 1 in the morning). In this story, Tohru's kind of the one rejecting Kyo. But no one falls off a cliff here (looked it up – aren't I a spoiler?)…not yet, anyway!**

**I don't know why, but I like it when certain characters get hurt – even my favorite or my own characters. Wait…_especially_ my favorite or made up characters. I honestly don't know why… By the way, Happy Thanksgiving!  
**

**R/R/KR!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I don't own Fruits Basket.**

**I FINISHED READING IT! Last night, I read volume 20 (which I already told you about). Today, I read 21, 22, and 23 in about 2 hours! …I finished it… I almost cried again when I read the last few volumes, even though I knew what happened. It's. Just. So. Damn. Cute!**

**There's only one thing that really pisses me off about the series. It's just the fact that a lot of the people who have dark hair are drawn as if they have light hair. Take Tohru, for example. She and Machi (along with Kureno and Katsaya) look like they have blond hair, when they have dark hair. Machi has dark hair, right? Yep, I just looked her up. But I still understand why Naka didn't make the hair dark. First off, that would make more than half the pages darker than they are right now. Second, I saw that she said often that it was hard to ink the hair in Rin, Ren, and Akito.**

**Anyway, without further delay…ON TO THE STORY!**

Who was that standing next to him? She looked awfully familiar…

An invisible light bulb lit up above my head when I remembered the brown-haired girl's name: Machi Kuragi. She was the treasurer in the student council. As I stood there, I recalled my conversations with Yuki regarding Machi. He spoke very highly of her.

Is that why they were walking together?

I was so focused on this that I didn't notice the pair walking my way. Suddenly, I felt a finger poke my arm. Glancing up, my eyes met Yuki's.

"Miss Honda," he said with a smile. "What are you doing out here?"

"I'm on an errand," I answered. It's not like I could tell him I was going to see _Akito_, for Pete's sake! I saw Machi standing behind him. "Oh, are you Machi?" She nodded. Yuki rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Machi, you can go on ahead. I'll catch up," he told her. Smiling, she waved at the two of us and walked away from us. Once the treasurer was out of earshot, Yuki seemed to be searching for the right words to say.

I shook my head just before he spoke. "It's all right." It truly was. If Yuki was seeing Machi, then maybe it would make the situation between my and Kyo less uncomfortable.

"So…you're fine with the two of us? Machi and I?" he asked. I nodded. He smiled at me.

"As long as you're fine with what happened between me and Kyo last week," I whispered. His jaw dropped. That wasn't a good sign. After a moment, he closed his mouth.

"It's fine with me. As long as we're both happy, then it's fine," Yuki said.

"Are you two, you know, together?" I wondered. He glanced at Machi, who was still waiting for our conversation to end, before nodding.

"Are you and Kyo –" Yuki tried to say. In response, I just shrugged. Truthfully, I didn't know. If Yuki and I weren't going to be dating any longer, will Kyo still accept me? Will he reject me just as I had to him? Apparently, Yuki understood that I didn't want to speak. Temporarily placing a hand on my shoulder gingerly, he walked away to join Machi. As the two got farther away, I stood still for a few seconds.

Staring down at the gray pavement made me practically forget my mission. My head snapped up. I had to talk to Akito!

Leaving the previous scene behind, I ran for the Sohma estate.

*FURUBA*

Momiji was the first person I saw when I entered the property.

"Tohru!" he shouted happily, bounding over to me with a smile on his face. His blond hair was shining in the sunlight.

"Hello, Momiji!" I replied.

"What brings you here?" he asked

"Well, I, uh…" I paused for a moment. "I came to speak to Akito." The way the rabbit reacted told me that he almost didn't want me to do that. "There's just one thing I have to ask…him." I wasn't sure whether Momiji knew about Akito's true gender or not.

He seemed to move on quickly. "Come on! Maybe later, I can show you the new song I'm working on with my violin!" I nodded, politely stepping around him and making my way to the head of the family's chamber.

The shocked and worried faces of the Sohma maids stared at my back as I walked down the hallways of the main house. What were they thinking? What went through the minds of the maids?

As I reached the door to Akito's room, an elderly woman tapped my shoulder.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked coldly.

"I have a question for the head of the family," I answered.

"You really shouldn't."

"It will only take a minute, I promise." Before she could say any more, the door slid open to reveal Akito Sohma. She waved her hand, beckoning me inside. Bowing my head, I entered.

As the door closed, panic rised in my chest. On the way here, I hadn't even given any thought as to what I would say to her!

"What brings you here, Tohru?" Akito asked.

"Well, there's something I wanted to ask you," I said timidly. Silence followed.

Eventually, she spoke. "Are you going to ask me? Or are you just going to stand there all afternoon?"

"Oh, sorry," I apologized. Clearing my throat, I turned to face her. Her black hair was dull in the shade of her quarters. Small amounts of sunlight illuminated her eerily. This intimidated me so. But I couldn't back down – not at this point. "Are you…jealous…of me being with Kyo?"

In response, Akito just laughed softly; it almost sounded like a crazed snicker. "_Jealous_? What did you think? Did you think I liked _Kyo_, the _cat_? That's absurd!"

"But you are a girl, correct?" This question seemed to catch her off guard.

"Um…yes," she said finally. "Just because I'm a girl, I have to be jealous of every boy you kiss?" The way her voice spoke – the way it sounded like she was afraid to answer – made me even more wary.

"Not necessarily. It's just…the way you acted last week; it seemed as if you were," I said. Suddenly, I felt a cold hand collide with my cheek. Blood rushed to my cheek. Pain signals were sent to my brain, but I did not scream.

"How dare you ask such a thing?" Akito shouted angrily at me. She breathed heavily, as if she was attempting to calm herself down. "So what if I am?"

My jaw dropped. Akito Sohma, the God of the Zodiac, the person who's supposed to despise the cat, likes Kyo?

**Man, Akito sure loves slapping people…**

**I just have to say something about how Yuki and Tohru broke it off. In real life, people would _not_ react like these two do here.**

**Have you guys noticed that I basically say the same thing in most of these chapters?**

**R/R/KR**


	9. Chapter 9

**I don't own Fruits Basket.**

**I'd like to take a few seconds to thank Lazy Gaga! My most prevalent reviewer! Thanks! And yeah, the ending was AWESOME! I was smiling like an idiot through every page of the last three volumes!**

**So…Akito likes Kyo? I didn't see it coming, either. I never do! With a bunch of my stories, they never turn out like I thought they would. In fact, I thought that it was going to be a lot longer before Yuki found out about Tohru and Kyo. Also, I didn't even think about Akito and her…feelings. But how could you NOT love Kyo! Damnit, I really am becoming a fangirl. I even have this bracelet that I wear just because it reminds me of him and his beads!**

**Anyway…ON TO THE STORY!**

My mouth was opened wide. I couldn't believe it.

"Y-you…like K-K-Kyo…?" I stammered.

Akito sighed loudly as she nodded. Suddenly, she became closer and closer to me. Her dark eyes were cold, glaring at me with a seemingly infinite amount of hatred.

"Against how I'm supposed to feel toward him, yes. I like Kyo," she confessed. Her slender hands pressed – _hard_ – on my shoulders, causing me immense pain. "But there's one little problem; there's one slight obstacle keeping me from having him under my spell just like the other family members. Do you know what that conflict is?" Gulping loudly, I nodded. "Right. It's _you_, Tohru. You're the bitch that stands in the way of me and my goals."

"A-Akit-to," I stuttered. She ignored me, grabbing the collar of my lemon-colored dress and dragging me down the hall. As much as I tried, I couldn't ignore the stares of curious family watching us. Akito's burgandy men's kimono swished as she walked.

Suddenly, a hand came out and gripped my wrist tightly. Akito and I focused our gazes on whoever was behind us. I gasped as my mind recognized him.

"Haru?" I said quietly.

"Yeah, it's me," Hatsuharu Sohma replied, his blond hair glistening in the light of the hall. "Akito, what are you doing?"

Akito turned her head away from Haru. "Nothing," she stated coldly. I sent the ox a pleading glance. His grip on my wrist tightened. He began to tug me away from the head of the family. As he started pulling me, Akito tried to pull me in the other direction. It seemed like she was able to hold her own against the strong cow-possessed teenager.

Eventually, I was pulled in Haru's direction so fiercely that it felt as if my arm was about to be ripped from its socket. Akito glared at me, then Hatsuharu, then at me again. She huffed loudly before walking in the direction of her bedroom. However, she didn't leave until she had gotten a solid punch at my cheek, right below my eye. Now there was pain on two sides of my face – my right cheek had been slapped, my left having been punched two seconds ago.

"Tohru!" Haru knelt down beside me. His finger caressed where Akito had just hit me. I flinched at his touch. Less than a minute later, I felt a prescence standing behind me.

"Hatsuharu, would you mind explaining to me why Tohru Honda is here with two red cheeks?" Hatori, the dragon, asked. He held out a hand, helping me to my feet.

Haru stayed where he was. Hatori reached out his hand again, gliding it across my face. Once again, I flinched.

"Akito," Haru answered. The dragon inhaled sharply. Someone else behind Hatori cleared their throat. How many people are hiding behind someone's back today? Shigure stepped into my view.

"Wow, Tohru. He certainly gave you good wounds, didn't he?" At first, I didn't know whom the dog was referring to. Then I remembered: most people believe Akito is a male. Did Shigure and Hatori know of Akito's true gender? If so, did Hatsuharu know? He probably didn't – or else I doubt he would've done what he just did.

Hatori inspected each cheek and sent me home with Shigure.

As Shigure and I walked down the sidewalk to our house, I wanted to ask Shigure about Akito.

"Uh, Shigure?" I asked. He turned to face me. "Do you…know about Akito?"

"What are you –" His mouth formed an 'O' when he realized what I meant. "Yeah, I know Akito's a girl. Hatori and Ayame know, too. But Hatsuharu and everyone else – they don't know yet."

I nodded. Thankfully, Shigure didn't ask any questions concerning me and Kyo for the rest of the walk.

Once we reached the house, Yuki and Kyo seemed to be waiting for me.

"Miss Honda," Yuki said. "Momiji and Hatsuharu called. They said you went to the main house earlier." Kyo's head snapped up.

"You went there? Why?" he wondered.

"I, um, had to help Kisa with something," I lied. Truthfully, Kisa – the tiger – didn't need me at the moment. In fact, we weren't supposed to meet up until the weekend.

Yuki seemed to buy my lie. Kyo turned away, so I didn't see his reaction. All I heard was something about how he was hungry. I smiled at him, walking into the kitchen to heat up the miso soup I prepared earlier.

*FURUBA*

After dinner ended, Shigure went upstairs to do who-knows-what. He said he was going up to start writing his next book, but I was wary. I could tell Yuki and Kyo were very doubtful of this.

"Yeah, right," Kyo muttered.

"He's probably reading porn magazines," Yuki said. I just shrugged and cleaned up the dishes. As I scrubbed the bowls, Yuki stood up. "Miss Honda, I'm going to call Machi and see how the student council balances are coming along," he told me. We both knew that he was going to talk to her about something else, but Kyo sure didn't.

The rat walked up the stairs to use one of the phones we had installed up there. He left me and Kyo alone.

Once I had finished with the utensils and the dishes, I turned around to see the cat sitting there, staring at me. As he glanced away, I looked down at my feet and blushed.

Suddenly, he stood in front of me. How was he so fast?

"Tohru," he breathed. His breath felt nice and warm against my lips. "I know that you were lying about seeing Kisa today."

"H-how do you know I was lying?" I replied timidly.

"I can tell when you are. I know you well enough to know when you're telling the truth, and what you said back there is a load of crap." Now I wasn't sure if he meant what I said about Kisa or what I said over a week ago. It didn't matter. He deserved to know why I went to see Akito.

I breathed deeply before speaking. "Today, I went to the main house to talk to Akito."

His jaw clenched. "Akito?" he spoke through gritted teeth.

Nodding, I continued. "You may not know this, but Akito is a –"

"She's a girl – I know."

My mouth opened wide. "How did you –"

"I made Shigure tell me a long time ago," Kyo confessed.

Letting out a short laugh, I bit my lip. "Well, the way she acted last week, on that one night, made me curious. So I went to see her today. She, uh…" I paused for a moment. "…Akito likes you."

He was suddenly silent. After a long silence, he spoke again. "So what?"

"I was just checking with her."

"Then how did you get hurt?" He placed each hand on each of my cheeks. They were very cold. All though they were freezing, they felt soothing against my face.

"Akito hit me," I whispered. Kyo's breathing became ragged with anger.

"Damn Akito," he muttered, dropping his head.

"On the way, I ran into Yuki, too." He snapped his head back up once he heard this.

"What does that damn rat have to do with anything?" His voice had a hint of jealousy in it.

"He was _with_ Machi," I said, placing emphasis on 'with' when I said it. Kyo understood what I was saying.

Kyo took a step closer. He was so close that his leg was brushing against mine. "Did you tell him?" he asked. I nodded. "Was he okay with it?" I had never heard him ask such a question while referring to Yuki. Once again, I nodded.

Just as he was about to kiss me, he stepped away. The look in his eyes was something I hadn't seen before in him.

**I was kind of trying to get that little 'Kyo knows about Akito/Kyo knows that YukiXTohru are done' in there somewhere.**

**We're reaching chapter 10!**

**How appropriate – I'm watching the Fruits Basket anime while writing this…**

**R/R/KR!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Once again, I don't own Fruits Basket. TENTH CHAPTER!**

**How many times have I watched all the episodes of the anime? I don't even KNOW! It makes me smile just as much as the manga does. All though…if I were to actually be in Fruits Basket as an OC or whatever, I don't think I'd react the same way. I'd probably act like I do away from the computer; I won't bore you with the details.**

**Okay…I'll _try_ to make this a long chapter. Uh…I don't know…Yep. You know, I think I'll start a POV switch in this chapter…Maybe. **

**Without further adu…ON TO THE STORY!**

Just as he was about to kiss me, he stepped away. The look in his eyes was something I hadn't seen before in him. Kyo stared at the ground for a minute, at the least. The sunset colors of orange, pink, and red accented his fox-colored hair. However, his eyes still seemed, I don't know, uneasy. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but they looked reluctant or something along those lines.

"Kyo?"

Suddenly, Kyo looked up at me. Was he…glaring…at me? I think he was. His jaw was clenched once again and his fists were clenched as well.

"I can't –" Kyo sighed loudly. He turned his head away from me. "Just go. I can't be with you."

I gasped quietly. "Why not?" I said slowly.

By now, Kyo's breathing was ragged and heavy. It seemed as if he was trying to keep himself from losing it. He wasn't even making any eye contact with me – his eyes just flashed all around the room. It was as if he was trying to search for the right words to say.

Eventually, he spoke. "I don't _want_ to be with you," he snarled. My eyes widened and my lips parted slightly.

"Wh-What?" I stuttered.

"You heard me. I don't want to be with you." Kyo emphasized each word. To keep myself from freaking out, I bit my lip – hard. I walked forward and took his left hand in mine. My other hand wrapped around his wrist. His white and red beads separated both of my hands. Suddenly, he pulled his arm away from me sharply. As he did this, the bracelet slipped off, too.

"Kyo!" I screamed. With a flash of light, he had transformed. After I looked back at him, I saw Kyo in his true form. The stench – the awful, disgusting stench that smelled worse than manure – filled my nostrils. The urge to vomit rose. I covered my mouth with my hands. Tears collected at the corners of my eyes.

"Go. Go now, Tohru," he said brusquely, his voice different. Once he glanced up at me, I could see his cat-like eyes defy what he was telling me. "You cause me trouble. Just go away; I don't want you." No…no…

Before he could see me crying, I raced out the front door and into the woods.

As I sat at a random tree, letting the shade the leaves and branches gave envelop me. Water rushed down my cheeks, burning at the spots where Akito hit me.

I just couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe that Kyo said that. A week ago, he had been kissing me so furiously. Maybe… Maybe I interpreted that the wrong way. At the time, it felt like he actually cared about me. It felt like I cared about him. Perhaps it was one-sided.

_If he doesn't want me, then…I'm fine with that._ Even as I thought it, I was fighting against it. But still…maybe it would be better this way. After all, he doesn't exactly want me around – especially since I just let him change forms.

However, even though I knew this, it still hurt. The way he said it was painful to hear, but that wasn't what made it hurt like it did. There was a pain in my heart – is this what it's like to be heartbroken? I guess so. His words weren't what hurt the most.

His eyes… They were glaring at me, but that was just a façade. I could see the heart behind those glowing red eyes. He was trying to make it seem like he truly wanted me to go. But I knew better; it was in his eyes. His lips told me he wanted me gone, but his eyes said, 'I want you here.'

And the fact that he was lying like that hurt me the most.

"So, did the cat dump 'Little Miss Pain in the Ass' already?" a voice eminated from behing a nearby tree. My gaze focused in on that tree as the figure revealed themselves.

**-Point of View change: Kyo- (A/N: First POV change!)**

_"I don't want to be with you_." That's what I said to her. I couldn't believe how cold I was towards Tohru. Damnit, why am I like this? Why do I have to be this damn cat? This life – it's hell for me. I wouldn't wish that upon anyone; I especially wouldn't wish it upon Tohru.

But I couldn't tell her that I wanted her to stay. Even if I'd hate to admit it, not wanting to hurt her wasn't the only reason I told her no. I wasn't just protecting her; I was protecting _myself_. Honestly, why was I so selfish?

She said yes that one night. On the night I first kissed her, she acted like she wanted me just as much as I wanted her. Then we said that nothing was happening. Why was I the first to say that? There are two reasons for that…

First: Yuki would've kicked my ass if he found out. You know, I'm surprised that he didn't after Tohru told him.

Second: Akito would've kicked _her_ ass. That one would have been even worse. But Akito did it, anyway. That bitch. She's just as bad as Kagura, if not worse.

Yeah, I knew Akito was a girl – how could I not? In the moments I've seen her, it was pretty obvious. I mean, she has that feminine voice. Her voice is kind of creepy in a sense… Also, the fact that she was masquerading as a male just made it stranger. That wasn't all that gave her gender away. After all, she did have that girl's figure. Crap, that sounded wrong, didn't it? Not that I stare at Akito! Tohru's the one whom is easier to look at and has a more loving appearance – not that I stare at her, either! Oh, who am I kidding? I couldn't help looking at Tohru. She's just so radiant and beautiful to me…

I just needed to ask Shigure and then it was verified. It wasn't until today that I found out from Tohru that the head of my family had a goddamn crush on me. That just gave me more of a need to protect Tohru from Akito. Seriously, that bitch already gave Tohru those marks! Imagine what would happen if the two of use were actually…together. Hell, Akito would probably _kill_ her. I cringed at the mere thought of it.

As time went on, as the moon rose into the sky, I could feel Tohru getting farther and farther away from me. My eyes briefly focused in on the clock on the blue wall; it was almost nine o'clock at night. Was she going to be gone all night? It was bad enough for her to have been gone for ten minutes, but she ran out over two hours ago!

Was it because of what I said? I knew my words felt like a stab to her heart; when she left me and Shigure alone in the hallway that night, it felt that way. It was hard to compose my face and my eyes to match my words. I failed, didn't I?

"Where's Miss Honda?" an annoying voice said behind me. I jumped.

"She ran off," I told him. Yuki huffed.

"You said something to her, didn't you? You said something that broke her heart. I know you did," he whispered. Slowly, I nodded. "Why?"

"I'll just hurt her. Even if she's just_ around_ me, she'll get hurt."

"And if she's in the woods, all alone, she'll be just fine?" That damn rat. I hate it when he's right. Shooting him a glare, I exited the house. As I ran in the direction I saw Tohru run, I felt Yuki behind me. Why the hell is he coming? "You're not the only one who cares about her, you stupid cat," he said. Damnit! Can he read my mind or something?

The two of us raced through the woods, dashing around the trees. Suddenly, we froze in our tracks.

Why is it that everyone that I care about most…why is it they always end up in these positions? Well, Tohru's the only one that I really care about, period. I…

I love her.

That makes the scene that's unfolding even harder for me to take in.

Tohru. Crap, crap, crap, crap. No, tell me that she didn't –

**Wow…I swore a lot in this chapter, didn't I?**

**Hey, this chapter itself (the ACTUAL story part) is over 1,400 words!**

**R/R/KR!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I don't own Fruits Basket. This also covers the Fruits Basket: Volume 1 quotes in here.**

**Sorry for taking a while – I have shitloads of homework. I have to write a letter for this one 'write a letter to the author of your favorite book and tell them how the book changed your life' or something like that. I chose Fruits Basket for this project. It basically talks about bonds and shit (how any bond can be broken). Apparently, I'm in Level 2, so I have to have 400-600 words. Before I realized that, I WROTE OVER 900! I had Momiji, Yuki, and Kisa as my examples, but then I had to take out Yuki. Now I have about 720. Damnit, why can't I just do Level 3 so I can have 600-800?**

**Now…ON TO THE STORY!**

**-Point of View: Tohru-**

"So, did the cat dump 'Little Miss Pain in the Ass' already?" a familiar voice said. My tear-blocked eyes flashed to a tree that was just a couple of feet in front of me. The figure that the voice belonged to stepped out from behind the tall body of bark. I gasped as my brain recognized the person.

"Akito," I stated.

"Did you expect anyone else?" 'God' sneered. I thought about it for just a second before nodding my head. She knew who I meant. "Kyo isn't going to come for you."

"Why?" I replied, my voice become increasingly assertive. "He'll come for you instead of me?"

Akito laughed eerily. "Hell, he'd come for me even if he wanted to come for you. I have something over him that you never will: fear. Control. I control his future. If he doesn't do what I say, I'll have him locked up faster than he can lash out at Yuki."

At my sides, my fists were clenched. "But I have something _for_ him that you never will."

"Really? What would that be?" Akito said condescendingly. I paused with my jaw frozen; what _did_ I have with Kyo? As I closed my jaw, thoughts swirled around in my head.

Ever since the day I met him – the day I discovered the Sohma family secret – the way I felt about the cat was never clear. Back then, I was hesitant to even talk to him, thinking that he hated me. Later on, I became friends with him. We had fun. I had fun. Then came the night his foster father, Kazuma Sohma, pulled off his white and blood-stained bead bracelet that had consisted of human bones. That night, I discovered Kyo's true form. It was disgusting. It reeked of a smell worse than leeks. I almost ran away from him. But instead, I ran _to _him. It's now that I finally realize why.

"Love," I answer. "I have love for him." Once that confession passes my lips, I think about my mom. I promised that I would never forget her. In order to forget her, I promised to never give that much love to anyone else. Does this mean I'm betraying her?

_'Tohru, you must always be yourself,'_ I recalled my mother telling me numerous times in the past. That's exactly what it was – the past. My mother was then. Kyo is now. Besides, she wants me to be myself. Loving Kyo is part of that.

As my attention returned to the setting Akito and I were in, I saw her rolling her eyes at me. "You're pathetic," she scoffed. "Tohru Honda: the 'innocent' little bitch that has fallen in love with the cat. You should know that Kyo, like all the other Sohmas, belongs to _me._"

I then did something I had never done since the day I had been born. I glared at Akito. What can I say? She's just not…nice. Kyo would be unhappy with her – he'd be even more miserable with her than he ever would be with me. That sounds conceited, but it's true. Ever since the day I met him…

_"Yo," he said bluntly, rubbing his shoulder. "Are you ready for me to break your neck, rat-boy?" Kyo taunted._

I could still remember what my first reaction of him was back then…

**_The ceiling… Is he hurt…?_**_ I thought. **Wh-who…** **Well, hello, orange-head…**_

That orange hair of his is just one of those things that can bring a smile to anyone's face, whether it be of mockery or because it's just plain cute.

Then, on his first day attending school with me and Yuki, Kyo was acting as if he hated me. It hurt, but that's just how he is: he speaks without running it all through his head sometimes. I chuckled at the thought. My smile faded when I recollected what he had said to me.

_"Would you shut up?" _His voice was so angry. He was mad that I had made him transform into his cat form. But I couldn't just let him fight Yuki. For one thing, quarreling has always been against school policy. Then again, maybe…maybe I just didn't want Kyo to get hurt fighting the rat. _"I don't care if I get in trouble, as long as I beat Yuki! Stay out of my way! What's with you? I can't even stand to look at you!_ Even in this point in time, when I am the receiver of Akito's fury, I can't help but wonder: did Kyo really mean that? Based on what he previously told me only minutes ago, it seems like he did.

However…the day I saw his _true_ form…he let me into his heart. I couldn't know what he was thinking at that exact moment, but I did know that Kyo wanted me to be with him just as much as I.

_"Let's go on living…together,"_ he told me. Kyo hugged me. It was one of the only times he ever hugged me. Sure, I've hugged him, but they were all accidents – just like those kisses were. If we never kissed, the relationship the two of us shared would have never been shattered like this. We would have just gone on living together as we normally did.

Do I regret it? I don't feel sorry for what happened – not as much as I thought I would, anyway. Even though the strain grew between us over the past week, I was _happy._ He was, too; I know he was. I guess…he just doesn't want to admit it. It is a bit of aheartbreak, knowing that we may never be together. But does that mean that I should feel lamented about it? No!

So what if I am pathetic? "I may be pathetic, but at least I am not a bitch like you," I said. Suddenly, I gasped softly. Oh…my…goodness. Did I just swear?

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," the black-haired female whispered, shaking her head in disappointment. "Tohru, you know you can't beat me, right? You can't save Kyo or even the other Zodiac members. You can't even save yourself." Her hand traveled to a pocket in her burgandy kimono that I didn't even know existed.

My eyes caught the sight of something shiny flash in the warm light of the setting sun. A knife.

"No!" I screamed, running in the opposite direction. The path I took led me up a steep incline to the top of a nearby hill. Grass concealed my legs from view. The green blades also hid the little thorns on the nearby rose bushes. I felt sharp edges scraping my revealed skin, turning it from clear and fine to scratched and bloody. Trees shaded my figure, which would keep Akito from spotting me easily, if not for the yellow dress I was wearing. She kept up with me quite well. But it's strange – Akito could easily catch up to me and stab me right then and there. Instead, she was slightly trailing behind me, as if waiting for the opportune moment.

Glancing behind me every five seconds, I climbed to the top of the highly-elevated hill. Before the pursuer could catch me, I took a moment to gaze at the scene that lay before me. The sun spoke its last words of light for the day before disappearing below the horizon. In the last light of the afternoon, I saw how the trees shone with blazing red colors. Then it was gone. Only the small shades of pink remained, painting the forest with the color of carnations.

As I looked upon the view, I felt a sharp pain enter my right side. I clutched the wound, grimacing in pain. Behind me, I saw Akito. She smirked evilly before poking my arm. The slightest pressure caused me to lean a little too far over the edge of the hill. I reached out my hand towards nothing. This was it. Akito killed me. I was never going to see Kyo again.

_Goodbye, Kyo, _I thought. _I love you._ Those were the last words that ran through my mind before I plunged into the woodlands below. By then, everything went black.

**-Point of View Change: Kyo-**

My eyes lay upon Tohru's body. Not in that perverted way! That's Shigure's job, damnit! Once I realized that my focus had drifted away from _her_, I snapped back to the present.

"Tohru," I breathed. Her crumpled figure lay on the ground, battered and scratched. Blood stains decorated her legs, arms, and face. A large red circle slowly grew larger on her left side. It was faint, but I could see the slight indication of a stab wound. Running over to her, I knelt by her side.

Why did I let this happen? See, _this_ is why I couldn't be with her. I cause pain for everyone that I care about. I love her so much I hurt her. Damnit, I should've rejected her before this all happened. I shouldn't have kissed her.

But…there's one important aspect. Sure, I felt pretty damn guilty about myself for bringing Tohru into this mess, but I didn't feel guilty about how I felt. I knew I loved her. I knew that. I also knew that she felt the same. That's what made this so freaking hard! How could I rebuff her like that and _not_ expect her to be upset? And now…look what's become of her. She's been stabbed. She fell down that hill. Akito made sure that Tohru wouldn't be able to have me. Heh. If only she knew…

"Stupid cat. Look what you've caused," Yuki said, kneeling down on the opposite side of Tohru.

"I know what I've caused! Don't make me feel any worse about it!"

"But you deserve it. She _loves_ you, Kyo."

_That's the first time,_ I thought. _That's the first time he's called me by my actual name._ Perhaps I looked as shocked as I felt, because that damn rat smirked.

"I'm trying not to insult you _too_ much – for Miss Honda's sake," the rat explained. I opened my mouth to reply with some smart-ass comment, but I was interrupted by a sound in the distance.

In front of us, the green leaves rustled. My head snapped up to see Akito. She leaned against the tree beside her, pursing her lips. Was she trying to look sexy? If you ask me, she didn't even look _remotely_ attractive to me.

"Well, Kyo. You've finally come," she said in her female voice. I blinked. "I had a surprise for you, but I see you have already discovered what _it_ is." It was as if she was calling Tohru an 'it'. My eyes flashed to Tohru, who didn't even look like she was breathing. "See? The obstacle is gone. We can be together now, Kyo." _She_ did this to her?

As I stood to my feet, my breathing became louder and rougher, my nostrils flaring.

"I will never, _never,_ be with you, Akito," I growled.

"You don't exactly have a choice. I am the head of the family, and you must do as I command. Haven't you learned that already?" Akito said with a fake sweet-voice. Clenching my jaw tightly, I shook my head. "It figures. Even Yuki hasn't soaked it in yet." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Yuki flinch at her sentence.

"But haven't _you_ learned?" My eyebrown rose as I spoke. "I'm not a part of the family, or did that little fact slip your mind?"

The murderer pulled something out of her dark red kimono. A knife with a silver blade glowed in the light of the rising moon. "Did you forget that I just killed the one person who kept you from obeying me? Do you want me to do the same to you?"

I glanced back at the rat, who shook his head furiously. Yuki cocked his head in the direction of Tohru's body. Her chest remained still. Before I met her, before the day she stumbled upon our Zodiac secret, I thought I could live without anyone else. It's only now that I finally realized that there is one person whom I cannot be deprived from: Tohru.

"Yes," I stated. "I want the same to happen to me." The ferosity of the crime – that should've been _me_. Yuki was right: I _did_ deserve it. I deserved to die, just like she did. Maybe, if we meet in death, I can apologize for my actions towards her during life.

"Suit yourself," Akito said. "If you don't want me, and if I can't force you to come with me, then that gives me no choice." She ran towards me, knife in her hand. I cringed, waiting for the pain to come. I waited for the blood to rush out.

"No!"

**…7:55 – 701…8:00 – 696…8:15 – 687…8:29 – 666…The next day – 587. I'd say I did pretty well. Kisa's my only example, but it's okay.**

**I have to say...writing things about certain characters (Kyo, mainly) is really easy for me. I also just realized that this is my longest chapter for this story. YAY!**

**R/R/KR**


	12. Chapter 12

**I do not own Fruits Basket.**

**Sorry for taking so long! I've been doing stuff (and I'm writing on yet ANOTHER writing website!).**

**Before I start this, I have to say something about Moonlight's Shadow Warrior's review: IT MADE ME LAUGH! I can't help it! I was like, "You. Don't. Even. KNOW!" in a Dane Cook voice.**

**And…ON TO THE STORY! (I had trouble choosing people for this chapter…for certain roles…)**

**-Point of View: Kyo-**

My eyes focused in on the blade in Akito's hand. I watched as she raised it above her head. She was really going to try and stab me.

You know what they say about when you're about to die? They say that everything around you -goes in slow motion – that your life flashes before your eyes? That's crap. Truthfully, the only thought that enters my mind at that moment was…Tohru. For just a moment, I glanced back to get one last look at her.

I caught a glimpse of her unconscious, bleeding, dirt-covered body. Her brown hair was filled with crumpled snarls atop her head. The blue eyes I loved looking at every day since the day I met her were concealed by her fair-skinned eyelids. I caused this to happen to her. She was never going to love me – not when my actions led to her being the recipient of so much suffering.

_Akito, just get it over with, damnit!_ I thought, tightly closing my eyes shut.

One second passed. Then another. What was going on? Why didn't I feel a knife puncturing my skin?

"No!" a voice bellowed at the head of my family. Behind me, my ears detected a light gasp from the rat. Looking up, a similar sound escaped my lips.

The male in front of me blocked the blade from reaching me. He fell to the ground, standing on all fours. Akito stood above him, her mouth open wide.

"What the hell, Shigure?" both of us screamed at him. The dog stared up at Akito with his puppy-dog face.

"I couldn't let you get rid of Kyo and _force_ me to live with _Yuki_," Shigure joked with a groan. On his chest, the side opposite his heart, a knife stuck out of his skin. Almost immediately, Akito wrenched it out.

"It wasn't supposed to be_ you_, you perverted canine!" she shouted. With shaking hands, she pointed a wobbling finger at Tohru. "It was supposed to be _her._"

"Too bad," the author grunted. "Que sera…" Shigure trailed off.

Great, now we had two wounded people. Out of the two, Tohru was my personal number-one priority. I rushed over to her side, only to be shackled by the thin hands of the cross-dresser. Akito held me back, pulling me against her. She brought her lips to my ear.

"How many people have to be hurt today for you to realize that you can't escape from my grasp?" she whispered. In the distance, I heard the pounding of feet, sprinting towards my destination.

It was Kagura. Damn…I never thought I'd see the day – the day when I was actually _thankful_ that the boar was coming. She blew into the small clearing, whipping the green leaves all around us. The leaves faded into the darkness of the night. I winced as she tackled me to the ground beside Tohru.

"Kyo! Shigure told me what you did, you ass!" Kagura yelled. Her hands slapped my cheeks and punched my gut. On most days, this would have pissed me off to the point of fleeing, but I chose to make an exception; just this once, I wouldn't be irascible to her. However, that didn't necessarily mean that she wasn't going to be as belligerent to me as always. She looked over at Tohru and saw her in the physical state in which I was responsible for. "What happened to Tohru?"

"The stupid cat broke her heart and Akito pushed her down a cliff," Yuki said quickly. Damn rat.

"Kyo, why do you have to be such a heartbreaker all of the time?" Kagura sniffled. For once, she didn't hit me after the insult. Instead, she removed her weight from my body and kneeled next to Tohru's.

"Why doesn't anyone worry about the head of the family, whom – if I may add – is doing all of this for you, you goddamn cat?" Akito's voice rose, even though I didn't think it could get any louder than it already was.

"That's simple," I said, standing, "it's because you're fighting for someone whom you cannot have. You won't get me." Out of the corner of my eye, Yuki nodded in encouragement. Next to him, Kagura did the same. She knew I didn't love her. She knew I loved _her_: Tohru. How girls can realize what people feel like psychics is something I will never find out. Shigure clutched his shirt, getting to his feet and placing the hand that was attached to his wounded shoulder on Akito's shoulderblade, restraining her. They all knew what I was going to say. "I don't love you, Akito. Hell, I don't even _like_ you. The one person I care about in this entire world is lying right there," I said, pointing to Tohru.

'God' breathed in and out loudly and heavily. Shigure directed her away from us, giving us some room. Kagura stood up.

"Kyo…" she whispered. Suddenly, she punched me in the gut once again. "What the hell is wrong with you? You know you love her more than me, so why did you reject her?"

"I—" I tried to say something, but she wouldn't allow me to speak. Her eyes bore into mine, allowing me to see into her mind. In one of our few calm moments together, she told me how it feels to be rejected by using her muddy-green irises. The times that I told her to get the hell away from me… I hurt her. If something like that could hurt _Kagura_, then what I said to Tohru hurt her more than I thought.

_"I don't want to be with you."_ Those few words shattered her heart into more pieces than I had imagined. But I had heard those words spoken at me so many times throughout my life… I guess I didn't realize the impact of that little sentence.

Kagura crossed her arms.

"This is why we are supposed to think before we act," Yuki said. "If we don't think straight, everyone we care about gets hurt." I stared down at Tohru.

"I'm such a dumbass," I whispered.

"You got that right, orange-top."

**CLIFFY! (finished RIGHT at midnight.)**

**That sounds NOTHING like Kyo, am I right?**

**Oh, poor Yuki… I only gave him two lines in this chapter…**

**R/R/KR!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I do not own Fruits Basket.**

**I'M SO SORRY! *goes into Ritsu's mom mode* IT'S BEEN SUCH A LONG TIME SINCE I'VE UPDATED THIS!**

**Well, anyway…I just started another Fruits Basket story: I'm Not Psychic. It's basically my version of the _entire_ manga series – and by my version, I mean what it would be like if I was in it. Read it, please! **

**I can't believe I finished this chapter before the 3rd chapter of I.N.P. (I've been working on that one for four days)…**

**And now…ON TO THE STORY! (this chapter was hard to come up with…)**

**Point of View: Kyo**

"You got that right, orange-top," said a strong, female voice from behind me. I swirled around to see two familiar faces glaring right at me.

Saki Hanajima and Arisa Uotani: Tohru's best friends. Hanajima had control of people's brain waves, while Uotani was a blond ex-gang member.

A pair of gray eyes – Arisa – stared at me with immense hatred. A pair of purple eyes – Saki – contained the same level of emotion. That was surprising, considering the fact that Hanajima's eyes are almost constantly expresionless.

The two girls stomped past me and rushed to Tohru's side. Hana stroked her cheek gingerly. Uo went to clutch her friend tightly, but Yuki and I reached our hands to halt her.

"What?" she snapped. That wasn't directed at the two of us. After all, that damn rat – as usual – didn't do anything wrong. I, on the other hand, was screwed.

"You're going to hurt her," I whispered.

"You say that as if you didn't just do the same thing," Hana piped up, gesturing to Tohru's unconscious figure.

"I didn't make her fall – the head of the family did," I defended. But I knew that protesting wasn't going to do crap. I did, however, know the words that were about to come out of Arisa's yankee mouth. How? They were the exact words I was thinking in my head.

"But you were the one who broke her heart and made her run out here, right?" she replied, rising to her feet. "If you hadn't shattered her heart into a million pieces, she'd be just fine!"

"How did you even find out?" I asked. My eyes flashed to Kagura. "I have the same question for you, Kagura."

"Shigure," the three girls answered simultaneously. That damn dog.

Hana and Arisa opened their mouths to say something more, but Yuki cut them off.

"Instead of fighting over what Kyo did to Ms. Honda, shouldn't we be trying to _help_ her?" the rat shouted. Everyone was silent. Sure, they shut the hell up when _he_ says something.

"I'm sure Shigure must have called an ambulance already," Kagura assumed. "I'll go make sure!" Great. She just made that excuse to get away from me!

"I think I'll go help you, Kagura," Yuki excused himself softly. He and she sprinted off into the woods, leaving me alone with the girls who deeply wished to wring my neck.

To distract myself from the eyes that glared at me, I listened to the pitter-patter of the chickens' feet on the thin twigs down the pathway that led back to the house.

Cringing, I swiveled my neck back to its original position. A gulp quietly traveled down my throat. Uotani walked slowly and creepily over to me. I could tell it took effort, albeit when Hanajima did the same, it came naturally to her. Gee, I wonder why.

Soon, I was nose to nose with Tohru's best friends. I actually had to make my eyes go into a cross-eyed position in order to keep them clear enough for my vision.

As Uotani attempted to stare me down, although she and Hana were both shorter than me, I was attempting to make it so she wouldn't attempt to pummel me. As for Hana…I was just trying to avoid her ability to make brain waves toxic.

"You," Uo began, "are not to go near her after help arrives."

"If you disobey us…I think you know what I am going to say, Kyo," Hana finished.

Right after they silenced, the sound of sirens were heard in the distance. The medical transportation was here! The girls have to shut up, because at least now Tohru's getting the help she needs!

Suddenly, my ears detected a practically unhearable sound coming from the direction of Tohru. I could tell that Uo and Hana didn't hear a thing; after all, I was possessed by the cat, so my ears were far more advanced than theirs.

Tohru let out an insanely soft moan. It was so quiet that even _my_ ears were straining to hear it. Once the sound reached my ears, I sped across the clearing and kneeled at her side. The other two were in shock by my reaction that they were just standing there, staring upon the scene.

"Kyo…" whispered Tohru. Her eyes were still shut tightly; her lips barely moved. As my name left her lips – the ones I really wanted to kiss at that moment and make everything better – she winced, as if just the mere thought of me put her in excruxiating pain.

I gazed upon her warmly. I knew I didn't have much time until either her friends would drag me away from her or the medics would arrive. Before I could be interrupted, I pressed my lip to hers softly. Her warm, blood-stained lips felt weak against mine.

I had kissed her for only a second before a pair of strong but slender hands wrenched me away from my love. It was obviously Uotani.

As she dragged me away, I said, just loud enough for Tohru to hear, "I'm so sorry, Tohru."

She heard me. I knew she did because her eyes snapped open to meet with mine briefly before closing shut once more as the paramedics entered the clearing.

Then Arisa pulled me out of sight of Tohru.

**RANDOM INFO! I looked up Arisa to see what her eye color was, and I discovered something: I'M ALMOST AS TALL AS HER! I'M 13, AND I'M ALMOST AS TALL AS ARISA! Weird…**

**Tohru, Momiji, Kisa(duh), Hiro(duh): I'm taller.  
Kyo, Uo, Yuki, Hatsuharu: I'm a few inches shorter.  
Akito, Hanajima: I'm the SAME HEIGHT! **

**You know, Kyo was more immature here.**

**R/R/KR!**


	14. Chapter 14

**I don't own Fruits Basket.**

**Uh…I don't know what to say, so I'll just get on with it…**

**And now…ON TO THE STORY!**

**-Point of View: Tohru-**

Every part of my body ached as the strange men hauled me through the trees to an ambulance. I do mean _every_ part. My head, my back, my legs, my arms, my stomach…they all hurt like hell. But my heart is what held the most excruxiating pain of all.

And it was because of _him_.

The ambulance shook as it drove over the road. I couldn't tell which directions I was being transported in. All I could figure out was that I was in an emergency vehicle. I didn't know what anything looked like; my eyelids only had had enough strength to open for that split moment to allow my eyes to meet with _his_.

An additional knot formed in my stomach. Even if I didn't think of _his_ name, just the mere thought of _him_ was enough to make me grimace.

Did_ he_ care? Did _he_ really care about all the pain that _he's_ caused me in the past few years? Ever since the day I met _him_, _he's _brought me more suffering than_ he_ has comfort. But I dealt with it because I loved _him._ Before the events that took place earlier, that love had been unconditional.

What did _he_ think? Did _he_ honestly believe that _he_ could just say 'no' to me and there would be no hard feelings? Hell no. Until now, I had been just too innocent to see this. But I'm done with that now. _He_ was always so angry whenever I succumbed to everyone's desires. However, have there not been moments when _he's_ wanted me to do such a thing for him?

My heart was always such an open book: easily accessible to any whom wished for my acceptance and care. I let my guard down as I broke down other people's defenses. There had never been a time when I protected my heart.

I heard a click, which signaled the opening of the ambulance door. I felt myself being pulled out on a gurney and rolled through the hallways. Where was I headed? Was I going to be placed on the east side of the hospital? West side? North? South? What time was it?

My eyelids still refused to part. Whenever I attempted it, they would just drift shut before I could take in my surroundings. It was as if I was overdosed on sleeping pills.

Warmth could be felt on my skin – either it was still daytime or the burning pain had not yet subsided. As I basked in it, my sight began to recover. I was able to open my eyes and soak in the scenery.

This awakening marked the beginning of my new disposition. From now on, I will focus on keeping myself from harm. After all, everyone else will be less pained if I am subjected to less hurt. Today was the day in which I put up that wall. Not just any wall – it was one constructed of brick and cement.

No more words.

No more emotion.

No more expression.

If I were to break any of these rules, the pain that I felt at that exact moment would return.

As all the casts were secured on my body – virtually everywhere you could _have_ one of these damn things – it was symbolic to me. These casts helped protect my body from more harm; the casts of the aforementioned regulations would protect my soul.

Oh, look, my first practice round. Here come my best friends: Uo and Hana. It figures: the first two people whom I must be silent around are the two people with whom I have shared so many secrets, so many dinners, so much happiness with…

No! I could not permit myself to get off track from my goal. I bit my lip as the tall, blond girl and her ebony-haired, short, gothic companion entered my hospital quarters. The two of them were so strong, which made me seem so much weaker and more fragile in comparison.

"Hey, Tohru," both of them greeted softly. Damnit! Why did they have to make it so hard? How was Kisa able to do it for so long?

I bit my lip harder as a response threatened to come out. This was going to be much more difficult than I originally believed. But I couldn't give up. Not so soon.

_No more words. No more emotion. No more expression._ Those three sentences echoed over and over inside my mind. They were all I focused on – if I only payed attention to them and nothing else, it would be that much easier to follow them. The slightest distraction – distractions such as my friends trying to make contact with me – had the potential to ruin my plan.

The more I repeated the words silently to myself, the easier if became to ignore everything else around me.

_No more words._

_No more emotion._

_No more expression._

Yes…silence is good for me.

**Do you like the profanity? I wonder if Natsuki had a hard time keeping Tohru as innocent and profanity-free as she was…IT'S SO DAMN HARD! Probably because I'm _me._ **

**Sorry about the short chapter…**

**_IMPORTANT MESSAGE!_**

**By the way, I'm taking a break from writing on here. I'm just... I have writer's block. I'm putting this message on all my stories here as well as the other two writing websites I'm on. First, I want to focus a bit more on music. Second...WRITER'S BLOCK.**

**R/R/KR!**


	15. Chapter 15

**There's something I just realized… Why is it that Shigure keeps getting stabbed on this website? Seriously.**

**Anyway, I don't own Fruits Basket. **

**I've been having writer's block. But it's been going away a little bit. So, why not try to get a chapter up?**

**And now…ON TO THE STORY!**

**-Point of View: Yuki-**

I knew that, for Miss Honda's sake, we weren't supposed to fight. But it was because of that stupid cat that she was hurt. Didn't that give me a reason to at least insult him in my mind?

I sat on a white bench outside room 228. It was the room in which Miss Honda had been put for her recovery. Her _physical_ recovery, anyway. How bad did she look now? Would she be glad to see me? Or would she do what she had always done for many – put on a happy façade when she was on the verge of tears inside? I hadn't seen her since the hospital's emergency response team had taken her here. Although I was allowed to see her at this point, but so were Saki, Arisa, and the Honda family. And by the Honda family, I meant her grandfather. The majority of her relatives that lived within driving distance of the hospital didn't care enough.

Some of the members of my family were here as well. Hatori came to 'make sure the doctors were tending to her injuries correctly.' Kisa came to see if she could do anything, as well as to be there for the one who was there for her. Hiro came…well, because Kisa came. Hatsuharu wasn't Black Haru yet, so he decided to see Miss Honda before he went dark on Akito and Kyo. Rin came because Miss Honda was her friend, too. Momiji came for the same reason. He was probably secretly hoping that this meant that he would get her in the end. Kagura came to make Miss Honda feel better. She was most likely talking about how much of an ass Kyo was – which would make her feel _so_ much better.

Shigure couldn't see her yet, considering he was getting help with his stab wound. Kureno didn't come because he still had an obligation to Akito. Akito didn't come because, although this was partially her fault, she believed Miss Honda deserved it. Kyo didn't come because he's a stupid, whimpy cat.

I was there because Kyo wasn't here to love her. And I was sitting out in the hallway because Miss Honda's grandfather was seeing her.

After a visit that lasted ten minutes, as had every other visit, her grandfather exited the hospital room. As he closed the door, his old, wise eyes met mine.

"Are you the boy –" he didn't finish the sentence.

"No, I'm not," I answer. "I'm Yuki Sohma."

"Oh, right. My mistake," he replied. He faked a smile and sat down beside me. His wrinkly hands sat upon his dark green trousers. The back of his yellow long-sleeved shirt sat against the wall. He turned to face me. "She's not speaking."

My back straightened instantly. "What do you mean?"

"She won't say a word. The doctors said her voicebox wasn't damaged, but she just won't talk to anybody," he explained.

When I thought about it, Kisa had said something about that after her visit with Miss Honda. She had said softly, "She's turned into me." But I thought nothing of it at the time. I couldn't comprehend what she meant.

I shook my head and looked at the floor. "He's such an idiot."

"Yuki Sohma," the man said strictly. My violet eyes flashed up to his face. "Help her. You know she loves you. I know you love her."

"But –" I began.

"Not necessarily that kind of love, boy. You know what kind I mean." With that, he stood up and walked slowly away.

Just as he turned the corner, a small woman in a white coat stepped in front of me, a clipboard in her hands.

"Are you here to see Tohru Honda?" she asked sweetly. I looked up at her smooth face. Her sleek, black hair fell around her face. Her brown eyes stared at me with patience. I nodded. "Come this way, please," she requested. I stood up and followed her into Miss Honda's room.

There she was. A white blanket lay over her body. Most of her wounds were covered by a gray gown. Her exposed left leg was elevated with a cast on her ankle. Her left wrist had a similar cast. In case of whiplash, a cast was wrapped around her neck.

When she recognized me, a smile formed on her lips. But it didn't spread to her eyes, so I knew she was faking it.

"Hello, Miss Honda," I greeted.

Instead of saying anything, she just waved with her healthy arm, confirming her grandfather's allegations. But I still had to make sure.

"How are you doing?" I asked. I decided to just ask a stupid question to bait her. Her response was another fake smile and a thumbs-up.

It pissed me off how much she had to give people this 'I'm completely fine' crap.

Now we get to the more difficult question. I wanted to be soothing and caring. However, I didn't want to sugar coat anything, either. Her grandfather wanted me to help her. She hadn't said anything to the people who were sugar coating it all and not getting to the bottom of her situation. I had to. In order to, I also had to be an ass.

"Okay. Why won't you talk to anyone? Why aren't you speaking?" I asked assertively.

She was speechless. Oh, wrong word choice. She couldn't come up with a silent reply for me. Her thin lips parted as if she was going to say something. Just as she was about to speak, her eyes widened and she immediately shut her mouth.

I sat down beside her bed. This was going to be a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.

**So…I've been on a hiatus for a month. It was just too hard to come up with anything to write. But now I'm starting to write a bit more…**

**R/R/KR!**


	16. Chapter 16

**I am now 14 and I don't own Fruits Basket.**

**So...I TURNED FOURTEEN THIS MONTH! Yup. I just said that, like, two seconds ago. And softball just ended (for school, anyway.). …I'm sick, and I've been insanely pissed off at a lot of things I've done this week. Fun, right?**

**Here's another thing to be pissed at: I CAN'T THINK OF WHAT TO WRITE AGAIN! …Damn writer's block.**

**Improv chapter. (Definition: chapter I write without any previous planning.)**

**Anyway…ON TO THE STORY!**

**-Point of View: Tohru-**

I could tell what Yuki was trying to do. He was _not_ going to get me to speak.

After the challenge of giving my _best friends_ the silent treatment, the majority of the day had been a lot easier. Not talking to people turned out to be less difficult.

That was, until Yuki came in.

I knew that Grandfather had told him about my lack of sound. When my father's father left my hospital room, he looked heartbroken.

Why do I have to cause so much pain to those I love? _Why_?

That was the reason Kyo did not want me: it hurt just to be around me. I was positive that that was his reason.

That was Akito's motive for hating my guts: everything about me – my innocence, my friendships within the Sohma family, Kyo's and Yuki's relationships with me, my 'average' life, my freedom – just pissed her off.

That was why Yuki and Kyo had to abandon family events just to comfort me. Even the Sohma's New Year's Eve celebration. They came to my side because Hana told them I would be depressed and miserable because I was alone. Although the two did not even want to go in the first place, it was a family tradition, and they missed out because of me.

Those were only a few of the examples of the hell I brought.

Did Yuki ever think of that? When he saw my grandfather, did he see how much I hurt him?

And do you know _how_ I hurt him? Do you know _how_ I brought pain?

By opening my dumbass mouth. Every word that I spoke took a part – whether its role was large or microscopic – in that pain.

There, I just found one more reason to never talk again.

But, damnit, Yuki was making it so hard. He was my final visitor for the day. He was trying to help me. And I was trying to turn him away. No matter what he said, I had to bite my lip to contain my emotions. I was afraid that my soft, thin bottom lip would start bleeding! However, I did not want Yuki to try to do anything. That would just hurt him more: unsuccessfully attempting to get a heartbroken teenager to utter just one sentence.

Oh, how I wanted to just let the tears fall! How I wished to cry into Yuki's shoulder, clad in his dark blue school uniform! He could not even begin to realize my desire to tell him every little trouble that weighed down on mind!

But I couldn't. I just couldn't.

If I did, I would give the rat just one thousand more reasons to do what Kyo did to me. What I participated in doing to me.

Oh, did I forget to mention that Yuki was still on my bed? As I beat the crap out of myself mentally, he just sat there; he just waited. He did not push me to speak. He just waited for me to say something - anything, even if it was just a small, muffled groan.

"Miss Honda," whispered Yuki timidly. My blue eyes flashed up to his violet irisis. I did not want him to say a word, but at the same time, I hoped he would talk all night. "If I hadn't promised myself that I would not try to kill that stupid cat during your recovery, believe me, our house would have been completely demolished right now."

I could feel a laugh battle its way up my throat. A small 'ha' made its way from my voice box to Yuki's pale ear. As soon as it did, my eyes widened. My head immediately turned to the left, towards the window. My neck began to hurt from the sudden movement. I cringed.

Yuki stood up and took a few steps to a red button. My nurse told me what that was for: if I needed anything, I should press that button, and she will be with me sooner than I can say 'tasukeru.'

_Not that I'd ever say that_, I'd thought, but I kept those words to myself.

The rat stood by the button, but didn't push it. Instead, he just started to pace.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

Finally, he turned to me. He came to the side of my bed and sighed that melodic sigh of his. His eyes glanced over at a red, digital clock on my bedside table. I followed his gaze. It was 8:53. Visiting hours ended in just seven minutes.

"I'm going to have to say goodbye for now," he told me regretfully. At first, I thought he was just going to smile warmly like he always did and walk out.

Nope.

First, his slender fingers gingerly brushed my brown bangs off of my forehead. He leaned over and kissed me. It wasn't one of those romantic hospital lip-locks that some will see in the movies. It was just a forehead kiss. But I felt like I was in one of those romantic movies for a moment. I could feel warmth flushing my cheeks.

Yuki's lips left my skin, but just barely. They rested just above the skin, touching with the lightest touch possible. Then, I felt them moving.

"I'll come by tomorrow, Miss Honda." He stood straight again. "I promise."

And with that, he smiled warmly like he always did and walked out.

But I wanted him to stay. We had seven more minutes - why did he leave?

Wait...what...?

**Rebound, possibly?**

**SORRY…SORRY…Really, I am sorry. This chapter is so mother-crudballing SHORT.**

**Ha ha…yeah, I think I'm screwed in the head. Seriously.**

**BY THE WAY...**

**I WILL BE DOING A SPIN-OFF OF THIS. AFTER THE NEXT CHAPTER, JUST SO ALL THE READERS KNOW, I WILL BE STARTING IT.  
**

**R/R/KR!**


	17. Chapter 17 Aww man, FINAL CHAPTER

**I do not own Fruits Basket.**

**THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER OF THIS STORY! AFTER THIS ONE, I WILL BE WRITING A SEQUEL. SO I'LL _ATTEMPT _TO MAKE THIS CHAPTER AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. DON'T COUNT ON IT. NOW, IF I COULD ONLY FIGURE OUT HOW TO STOP WRITING IN ALL CAPS…**

**Anyway…ON TO THE STORY! (warning: possibly a bad chapter)  
**

**-Point of View: Tohru-**

Yuki began coming to see me more often. I still didn't speak to him. But he spoke to me.

Every day.

All though it did start to become annoying, it also made me happy. People still trusted me enough to pour their hearts out to me, fearless of what my reaction may be. People still loved me enough to come and see how I was doing. People still understood me enough to not get pissed at my silence.

However, that did not, by any means, convince me to let any sound exit my mouth. I was content being silent.

But was everyone else?

No! I couldn't do this! I couldn't give up just because of the trouble it caused them. The hardships it might have been bringing to my friends, my family…

Damnit. The longer I refused to speak, the easier it became to keep that up. The longer I remained quiet, the less people tried to break the silence. As I stayed in the hospital, everything fell into routine.

Tsuki, a nurse with hair that was the same color as the moon, would come and check on me just after I pressed the red button to let the staff know I was awake. And because when I pressed the button I had to make a sound, I would just clap a few times, and they apprehended my signal. After Tsuki looked over my cuts, bruises and casts, she would walk out and leave me alone for one hour, at the most. Then, she would peek in and conduct another examination of me to make sure I was ready for visitors.

The visitors were, overall, the same every day. Hana and Uo were often the first ones. Hatsuharu, Ayame, Kisa, Rin, Momiji, Ritsu, Kagura Kureno, and even Hiro would come. Whenever Hatori came, he would just ask me 'yes' or 'no' questions about my physical well-being. He wouldn't ask me anything about Kyo – unlike other people, who kept on looking for the okay from me to beat the crap out of _him_, to which I refused every time – because he had already been in a similar position. Eventually, Shigure began to come see me after his stab wound had been fixed. He tried to tell me that Akito wasn't always as abhorrent and murderous as she had been that day. He tried to tell me about _him_, and how _he_ wanted to come and visit, but _he_ wasn't sure if I was ready. Oh, _he_ was right on the money.

Every single day, the rat was my final visitor.

Every single day, we would – actually, Yuki would – talk. He confessed his breakup with Machi. He said that he had just stopped being interested in her. They didn't hang out with each other any longer, and they just couldn't do it anymore.

Yuki told me what all of the other students were learning about in school. He also explained how everyone, even his fan club, missed me.

"They can't wait for you to recover," he said one day. It had been two and a half weeks since I had originally been admitted to the hospital.

I opened my mouth to say something, but quickly shut it once I realized this. Even in the twilight, I could see the hope in those familiar, violet eyes appear and vanish within the same amount of time.

_Sorry, Yuki,_ I thought.

"So the nurse mentioned to Shigure that your physical recovery is almost complete," the rat changed the subject. His voice was filled with mixed emotions: happy, disappointed, hopeful, among others.

I smiled and glanced out the window. The pink and orange sky made the town look like a picture perfect painting. What was left of the sun over the horizon illuminated the panorama. The citizens walked around and seemed as if they were ants as they did so. All of the cars that drove down the spiderweb of roads looked just a little bit larger. In the distance was a forest. There were two places in which there were no trees. The larger gap was, I knew, the main Sohma property. Where the smaller one was located was where the house that I lived in. The house I shared with Shigure, Yuki, and –

Suddenly, I couldn't look any longer. I snapped my head away from the window, causing pain in my neck. Cringing, I lifted my good hand up to the back of my neck, rolling it and rubbing my hand on my skin.

"Oh, Miss Honda," Yuki chuckled. "Take note of this: do not whip away like that; you'll get whiplash like that."

At his comment I couldn't help but grin. I could feel a giggle rising in my throat, but I swallowed hard to keep it down.

"You know," he began softly, so much so that my ears were forced to strain just so they could hear, "You will be coming home in about one week…"

After he trailed off, I made a motion with my hands, requesting that he continued. Nodding, he kept speaking.

"As I was saying, you'll be returning home in appromixately one week. What do you plan to do about Kyo?" Damnit. Yuki had been one of the only people to restrain themselves from mentioning that name. I winced at the sound of it, as pleasant as it sounded.

I shrugged. I didn't know what I would do when I came back to the house. Originally, I planned to cross that bridge when I came to it. Perhaps I'll have to reevaluate that little dream.

It was pretty simple why:

I loved him. I was in love with him again, and I didn't want to ruin that like I did last time. Well…like both of us did last time.

But I still loved _him_.

**-Point of View: Akito-**

I was an idiot. I was a burden. I was nothing. I was everything. Nobody liked me. Everybody had to act like it.

I tried to kill her. I lost control over all of the damn Zodiac members, myself included, and it was messing with my head.

Why did he still love me, though?

Those were the thoughts running through my mind as I lay on the floor beside him. I turned onto my side, thankful the blanket was covering me just in case that stupid pervert woke up. My fingers ran through his black strands of hair. Then I quickly removed them from his head and stared at them.

They are the fingers that made my fists. They made my fists that I punched her and everyone else with. They helped me push away those who tried to help me, even though in Shigure's case, he always wins either way.

They are the fingers that pushed her down that hill. They are the fingers that clenched the knife that she and Shigure were stabbed with.

Which brings up the question I asked before: Why did he still love me? Although I didn't mean to, if that knife had been just an inch over, he would not have been lying next to me as he was now. In fact I repeatedly abused him, not only physically, but verbally as well. Why did he always choose to come back to me and to have these moments where we forget all of that shit and just love each other? We both knew every time that I wouldn't change.

But I had to. I could feel everything slipping away. My family, my dignity, my control, even my sanity were disappearing before my evil, glaring eyes. There was only one thing that would make one thing – even just a single bliss that I could hold on to, besides Shigure – return to me.

Carefully, trying not to make a sound, I eased out from under the yellow-green blanket. The cool spring air blew through the open windows onto my body, which was not clad in anything. After tiptoeing across the room, I pulled out a dark blue sweater and black pants. I knew the colors because they were the only clothes in my posession that were not damn men's kimonos. I pulled on the clothes as swiftly and as quietly as I possibly could.

Apparently, I wasn't quiet enough.

**-Point of View: Shigure-**

"On your way to the hospital, I see," I muttered as she pulled on her clothing. She didn't have anywhere else she would want to go that would make her so fidgety in the middle of the night.

I heard her curse under her breath as she walked, not being as conscious of the noise she made, towards the door.

"I have one question for you," I yawned, propping myself up on my elbows and stared at her, in my opinion, beautiful figure in the dark light of the night.

"What, Shigure?" Akito growled at me.

"How exactly do you plan to travel to visit dear little injured Tohru?" I ask, smirking in the dark.

In response, she walked over to where I lay under a blanket and tore it away from my body. With practically no light in the room, she couldn't see any of...that. I quickly slipped on a pair of boxers and stood up, several inches taller than her.

"Drive," she commanded.

"Let me remind you: it is the middle of the night. Visiting hours ended hours ago," I explained. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to see Tohru as much as anyone. I wanted _Akito_ to see Tohru even more. Well, I wanted Kyo to as well, but that was far less likely. However, Tohru needed her rest. She was emotionally wrecked at the moment, and sleep deprivation wouldn't help at all.

"Fine." Akito crossed her arms, obviously trying to keep herself from breaking into a tantrum at two in the morning. "In the morning."

I bent down to the point where my lips were centimeters from her left ear. "Yes, my love," I swooned, breathing into her ear.

Although I could feel her desire, she wasn't in a good mood anymore – and I mean that. "Let me just go to sleep. I don't want to see her tomorrow and bitch at her because I'm cranky."

I let out a chuckle as she settled under her blanket. Sitting down next to her body, I watched her as she fell asleep. It took her a while, but I just watched her silently.

As I took in the sight of Akito's sleeping form, I reminded myself why I was in love with her. I thought about why I didn't leave her, no matter how many times she demeaned people over and over again just for her own selfish reasons.

Even with all of her bad qualities, I always knew that it was just a ruse. And although she had practically become what she had pretended to be – I'm not talking about her male desguise, because I knew from experience that she was not turning into a boy – there was still a light in her.

That was why I loved her. That was why I had no intention of leaving her.

That was also why I was going to drive her to the hospital tomorrow to visit the girl she stabbed and pushed down a hill.

While thinking about our visit that would take place the next day, my mind couldn't help but wander continuously back to Kyo. He wouldn't be able to avoid her forever. She was coming home in a week. He needed to shape up if he ever wanted to even coexist with Tohru ever again.

**-Poing of View: Kyo-**

Damn rat.

Damn rat.

Damn that damn rat. I wanted to hurt him so badly. I didn't care how much he was helping Tohru. Well…I did, but…you know what I mean! I would've rather been in his place; I would have rather been the one able to be the last person to come to see her every day, the last one she smiled at – if she did at all.

I was on the brink of insanity, not knowing how she was! All I knew was that she wasn't speaking to anyone – not even her best friends! Was she healthy? Was she smiling? Were people treating her like they should?

Look at me. I should talk. I was the one who got her into this predicament. I was the one who made her silent.

Did anyone else realize it? I hurt Tohru. I scarred Tohru. I scarred her for life. Just by loving her, I turned her into the opposite of the bubbly, happy girl everyone knows and loves.

And I wanted to see her. Me, of all people! The boy that everyone was probably warning the hospital staff not to let through. How predictable is that?

But…did she want to see me? I mean, even with all the crap I did to her, didn't she call for me as the yankee and the psychic dragged me away?

_"Kyo…" whispered Tohru. Her eyes were still shut tightly; her lips barely moved. As my name left her lips – the ones I really wanted to kiss at that moment and make everything better – she winced, as if just the mere thought of me put her in excruxiating pain._

_I gazed upon her warmly. I knew I didn't have much time until either her friends would drag me away from her or the medics would arrive. Before I could be interrupted, I pressed my lip to hers softly. Her warm, blood-stained lips felt weak against mine._

_I had kissed her for only a second before a pair of strong but slender hands wrenched me away from my love. It was obviously Uotani._

_As she dragged me away, I said, just loud enough for Tohru to hear, "I'm so sorry, Tohru."_

_She heard me. I knew she did because her eyes snapped open to meet with mine briefly before closing shut once more as the paramedics entered the clearing._

When I looked into her eyes that day, I didn't see rage. I didn't see just pain in her deep, blue irises. I saw longing. I saw hesitance. I saw love.

I also still saw the pain; the pain of betrayal, the pain of lonliness, the pain of heartbreak.

Damnit, why couldn't I make up my goddamn mind? Did I want to go see her? Or was I going to leave her alone?

I wanted her, but at the same time, I didn't want to be around, in fear of hurting her again. I needed to be around, to touch her soft skin, to hear her selfless voice. However, I thrived on protecting her. I would be doing the opposite of that if I was around her.

Not only that, but I had to take what was happening at that time into consideration. She wasn't speaking. That was all I knew about her condition, besides her heart and why she wasn't speaking. Her pain was caused by me, and only me.

_I_ didn't save her mother from being hit by that car.

_I_ kept getting her hurt.

For the most part, it was _my_ fault that Akito was bent on making her life hell.

On more than one occasion, _I_ was the one who caused her physical pain.

_I _was the one who caused a substantial amount of her emotional pain.

_I_ was the one who would have had to leave at one point, anyway. It was the cat's destiny to be barred from society at a certain age.

So why not just keep it the way it was supposed to be? Miserable life. No love. No happiness.

It would be better for her this way.

**Geez, that's a lot of depressing stuff, am I right (with the exception of Yuki's POV, which wasn't written well, which was why I didn't keep it in)?  
**

**Also, sorry for keeping Yuki out of this. I just couldn't think of anything he could think that wasn't the same as what every single person was saying in this whole chapter. SORRY! I'LL TRY TO PUT MORE OF HIS MIND IN THE SEQUEL!**

**Which reminds me: if you read the beginning of this, you know that this is the end of Faithless. However, there is a sequel. It is now on Fanfiction. It is called Voiceless. So...go check it out!  
**

**R/R/Read the sequel...please!  
**

**-Pamela**


End file.
